open question

noun

1. a matter which is undecided

2. a question that cannot be answered with a yes or no but requires a developed answer

Idioms and Phrases

An unresolved issue, one that has not been finally determined. For example, Whether the town should pave all the unpaved roads remains an open question. In the mid-1800s this term acquired a specific meaning in the British Parliament, that is, “an issue on which members may vote independently, without respect to their party affiliation.”

Example Sentences

Whether the benefits can be saved is an open question; the District of Columbia and 25 states, including California, sued the administration Tuesday to block the cutoff.

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One open question: How do these views change over time?

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"I think that's still a very open question in the US. I think it's a question we have to take very seriously."

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It remains an open question if the former president will be able to mobilize fence-sitters and politically disengaged people to rally in defense of democracy and freedom — and such expectations are too much to ask of one man or leader.

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It’s an open question whether supershear earthquakes happen on other strike-slip faults in California that are shorter and more irregular, Aagaard said, such as the Newport-Inglewood, the San Jacinto and the Elsinore in Southern California.

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